Talk:You Are Not Alone/@comment-3575890-20140511021151
Sansa honestly makes my heart swell with pride. She's this mixed bag of sweet, delicate, innocent, and gentle versus hardened, resilient, jaded, and strong like granite. She is so fucking complex - has so many different layers that entwine neatly together to create this maelstrom of a super woman. She is the strongest character in the whole damn series and barely anyone gets that just because she doesn't fit the typical heroine mold like Arya, (who yes, is also really badass) but one could argue that Sansa has in some ways suffered significantly more than her little sister, whom while no doubt has worse off living conditions and whose daily situation puts her in constant mortal peril, is at least not within reach of her enemies, is not subjected to physical and emotional abuse everyday of her life by them, and has the means and physical capability to protect herself against prospective enemies she may run into on the road. All Sansa has is her wits to protect her and it's all that's kept her alive for so long. In that vein, she's also really fucking dangerous. Like I don't think people understand just how damn dangerous, but if they were to use some critical thinking instead of viewing everything at face value they would see just how much. She has a strong vendetta, is hardened from the years of abuse and mental torment to the point of numbness, doesn't fear the threat of pain anymore, has picked up the tricks of the trade of her enemies flawlessly enough to be able to use them against them without being detected, and at this point, feels she has nothing to lose. From playing the game for so long, she is growing into quite a master manipulator that could someday rival Margaery, who inarguably is the most dangerous woman in all of Westeros. She deflects the backlash of her family's traitorous taint (as her enemies see it) and lends strength to the illusion of her loyalty to her enemies by feigning disgust and renouncement of her loyalty to her own family even though she loves and misses them with every fibre of her being and it shatters her heart increasingly more each time she has to pretend she doesn't; she takes their physical and mental abuse with little to no complaints to prevent as much harm coming to her as possible, which takes an immense level of mental strength and self restraint that no one else on this show has; she backhandedly manipulates her enemy into sparing a man's life; she ostensibly scoffs at her brother's capabilities-in-battle to her enemy all to simultaneously psyche him out and build up his confidence in his own capabilities so he'll be more inclined to step out into the thick of the battle where he would likely be slaughtered in what has to be the single most cleverly played, subtly diabolical attempt on an enemy's life ever. And just recently she manages to talk her way out of a dangerous predicament with her aunt Lysa while under a state of extreme duress, which shows that even when her better senses are muddled by terror, pain, and hysterics, she is still capable of thinking clearheadedly and rationally in a crisis. Those wheels in her head are always turning. Sansa claims she's just a stupid little girl with big dreams that never learns, but she knows exactly what she's doing and knows just how to play every one of her cards right in order to survive. She's shrewder than the biggest snake in all of Westeros, Little Finger, and smarter than all of her enemies who underestimate her strength, intelligence, and capability. And yet, the most amazing part of all is that in the midst of all of this, she still retains her innocence and light. She's still that sweet, compassionate, gentle soul she's always been. Her experiences in the Capital have not dramatically changed her for the worst. She's hardened, but not cold like Cersei. Cunning, but not ruthless like Margaery. Disillusioned, but not darkened like Arya. Sansa is extraordinary. (Oops, what was supposed to be only a paragraph of me gushing about how much I love her turned into another essay.)